ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– For the first time since joining the MAC, Eastern University Men's Basketball won 11 league games. With that, the Eagles secured a home game in the opening round of the MAC Freedom Tournament. To advance past the first round, the Eagles were going to have to beat the best offensive team in the conference for a third time. The visiting Misericordia University Cougars (20-6) hit 14-of-31 from three point range and pulled away to an 85-65 win late.

The Eagles were within five points with six and a half minutes to play, but the Cougars scored 18-straight points in a three minute stretch to pull away.

The Cougars held the lead for most of the game, and were up 41-32 with fifteen seconds left in the first half. Shaquan Turk gave the Eagles some life with a 3-pointer from the top of the key at the buzzer to close the gap to six at the break. The Eagles made just 2-of-9 from behind the arc in the opening 20 minutes. The Cougars, meanwhile, were 7-of-16. Griffin Sponaugle had three of those off the bench. He led Misericordia with 11 points and four assists at halftime. The senior guard, who hit 8-of-10 3-pointers in a game against Eastern in his sophomore season, reached 1000 career points on his first 3-pointer of the game.

Turk and Lincoln Holley had 11 to lead the Eagles at the break.

Eastern scored the first eight points of the second half and brought the crowd to life. Holley had a pair of jumpers, and Victor Peña gave the Eagles the lead on a tough six-footer on a feed from Austin Duncan.

The two teams traded baskets until the guests built a 59-51 lead with an 8-0 run over a two-minute stretch in the middle of the half. The Eagles stayed within striking distance until the decisive run came late.

"It is really hard to beat a team as talented as they are three times," Head Coach Eric McNelley said after the game. "We were able to match them shot-for-shot the first time we played them, and we kept them from getting hot at their place, but when they are hitting shots, they are really hard to deal with."

Tony Harding hit 6-of-8 from 3-point range to lead the Cougar barrage. He finished with a game-high 22 points. Sponaugle had 16 off the bench.

Shaquan Turk had 18 in his 98th and final game in an Eastern Uniform. He finishes his career with 1646 points which is sixth  in Eastern Basketball history. Holley finished with 15 points in his final game. Peña, a sophomore, had 17 points and 10 rebounds for his tenth double-double this year.

"I am so proud of what our guys have done this year." McNelley finished. "Our seniors have put their stamp on this program and taken it a step forward. I know that our younger guys are going to want get in the weight room and build on the legacy that these five guys have started."

Austin Carroll played in his 99th career game tonight and finishes his career with 662 points, 307 rebounds, and 294 assists. Greg Boyd and Tarek Hamzeh also played in their final games. Boyd capped the night with a 3-pointer, Eastern's first make of the second half on a pass from Hamzeh.

Misericordia will play the winner of the game between DeSales and Delaware Valley which will be played tomorrow at 5:30 at Del Val. The game was scheduled for tonight, but a power-outage on campus forced a postponement.